LANGKAWI: A task force comprising 25 federal and state agencies is ready for the arrival of international tourists to the island beginning today, under a pilot travel bubble project.
Langkawi District Officer Saiful Anwar Azmi said the main focus of the Langkawi international travel bubble task force was to ensure the compliance of health protocols among international visitors.
"The task force comprises various committees such as the Covid-19 pandemic management, security management, border management and other areas.
"Among the main focus of the task force is to verify the vaccination status and provide briefings on Covid-19 health protocols to international tourists upon their arrival at the Langkawi International Airport.
"We will be working together with private travel agencies engaged by the tourists to ensure their compliance to the SOPs (standard operating procedure) set by the authorities," he said when met at his office today.
Saiful said the duties of the task force would be similar to its role under the pilot domestic travel bubble launched on Sept 16.
"The only difference this time around is we are managing international tourists, so we hope the tour guides play their roles in ensuring visitors comply to the SOPs," he said.
Langkawi was initially opened for domestic tourism in a pilot travel bubble from Sep 16 for adults who had completed their Covid-19 vaccination.
On Oct 22, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that Langkawi would reopen to fully vaccinated international tourists under a pilot travel bubble project.
The international tourists are required to engage travel agencies to manage their trips into Langkawi and also subjected to undergo Covid-19 screening prior to their departure and arrival in Malaysia.